Renaissance: A Revolution in Minds
In the Middle Ages, men seemed to have lost interest in the past. Scattered over Europe were reminders of the great days
of the Roman Empire – scraps of walls, ruins of arenas, temples and triumphal arches. To the people of the Middle Ages,
they brought no dreams of glory. The ruins were a terrible warning of the wickedness that God had punished.
For the majority of men in the Middle Ages, the past mean little, the future was meant to reward in heaven or punishment
in hell. And between the past and the future was the harsh present, in which they were peasants working the land. Ruling
them were the feudal lords who made war, protected them from other lords, and grew fat on their labor. Ruling them, too,
were the priests and monks who taught them their religion, emphasizing that their lives would pass as swiftly as the crops
they harvested.
They live in a society held together and controlled by feudal law and the Catholic Church. Each man was born to his
place, with his rights and duties laid down by law and custom. No one, not even the most bloodstained lord, questioned
the value of religion for the sake of power or wealth. Altogether, especially for the peasants, life was simple and primitive,
and marked by war, famine, and plagues. This society of lords, priests, and peasants was meant to last until the end of
time, unchanging and unchangeable. And yet it did change…
The Renaissance
To go forward it was necessary to go back –
In the Renaissance men began to think less of death and more of life. They were less concerned with their future in heaven
or hell, and more with their present on earth. And curiously, because they were concerned with the present, they tried to
learn from the past, from the ancient of Greeks and Romans. “I go to awake the dead!” said one Renaissance man.
Indeed, it was as if the dead were being awakened and forced to give up their secrets of art and architecture and
philosophy. But, even more important, the living were awakening from the long sleep and dark dreams of the Middle
Ages. So great was the awakening that it seemed as if all mankind was being reborn. This period became known as the
Renaissance, taking its name from a French word meaning rebirth.
To go forward it was necessary to go back; to advance from the Middle Ages was necessary to return to antiquity and
relearn the lessons which had enabled Rome to produce her great civilization. Medieval scholars had known about men
like Virgil, Ovid, Cicero, Aristotle, and Plato; but not until the 14th century, and then only in Italy, was an attempt made
to see the whole classical world as a culture in its own right. The study of this culture came to be called humanism. And
humanists were concerned not only about discovering and editing Greek and Roman books, but with sorting out those
elements in ancient through which could help men live better, more responsible lives. They turned Rome not only for
instruction about law, politics, and art, but even moral guidance.
A rebirth of interest in this world
Humanism means something different today, but in the Renaissance it stood for the view of life that while devotedly
accepting the existence of God, shared by many of the intellectual attitudes of the ancient pagan world. It was interested in
esthetics, saw the usefulness of knowledge of history, and was convinced that man’s chief duty was to enjoy life soberly
and serve his community actively. Thus humanism restored to the scales balance which the Middle Ages had titled with
a concern for eternity. It stressed earthly fulfillment rather than preparation for paradise. It had its spiritual side, but it
reflected a society that was more interested in worldly matters – a society that was practical canny, self-conscious and
ambitious.
Consequently, while many medieval scholars have been (monks), concerned with solitary meditations on spiritual matters,
the Renaissance scholar was much more likely to be a public figure - - a teacher, a diplomat, a secretary of
state…”Teachers turned their backs on medieval idea of poverty, celibacy, and seclusion, and instead praised family life
and the wise use of riches. A monastery cell was no longer felt to be necessary for the development and the mind; learning
was best pursued in some degree of material comfort.
An emphasis upon the individual’s worth
In the Middle Ages to praise man was to praise God, for man was a creation of God. They played down the sinfulness he
was born with and emphasized his ability to think and act for himself, to produce works of art, to guide the destiny of
others. They freed man from his pegged place in the medieval system…
This new vision of man sprang from a heightened awareness of self. Medieval man had been preoccupied with searching
their souls, but Renaissance men were much more intrigued with exploring, and indeed parading, their own
personalities… It was in the same spirit of self-interest that men began to call attention to themselves as unique and
individual beings. For instance, composers began to sign their music. Around 1340 a self-confident Florentine banker had
the gall to have his portrait painted on his tomb and in 1453 a Florentine commissioned a portrait bust of himself.
Directions: Fill in the chart of generalizations about beliefs in the Middle Ages vs. beliefs from the Renaissance
Middle Ages
1. What is the renaissance period?
2. How did life change from the medieval period to the renaissance period?
3. What does the term renaissance mean?
4. What does this quote mean “To go forward it was necessary to go back?”
Renaissance